UAE holds second-ever advisory body elections, women elected

DUBAI (Xinhua) - About 130,000 voters of the United Arab Emirates elected Saturday half of the 40-member Federal National Council (FNC), the second such election in the Emirates' 40-year history.

Sunday, September 25, 2011 3:12:16 PM

Around 450 candidates, including more than 80 women, ran for the 20 seats in the FNC, which mainly acts as an advisory body. The other half will be appointed by the Federal Supreme Council, the country's highest governing body.

About 46 percent of the electorate are females, more than double the percentage in the 2006 election, said the Abu Dhabi- based English-language daily The National.